BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE
Senator Patricia Wiggins, Chair
BILL NO: AB 288 HEARING: 5/20/09
AUTHOR: Nestande FISCAL: Yes
VERSION: 5/14/09 CONSULTANT: Detwiler
MOSQUITO ABATEMENT DISTRICTS
Background and Existing Law
Mosquito abatement and vector control districts protect the
public health by controlling mosquitoes, other insects, and
rodents. Appointed, but independent, boards of trustees
govern mosquito abatement districts. Each city or county
government located within a mosquito abatement district is
an "appointing authority" which names at least one trustee
to the district's governing board. The trustees serve
fixed terms of two or four years.
Mosquito abatement districts' revenues come from property
tax revenue allocations. The districts can also levy
special taxes and special benefit assessments. The
districts must have regular audits and file annual
financial reports with the State Controller.
Proposed Law
Assembly Bill 288 requires a mosquito abatement and vector
control district's board of trustees to adopt a formal
written response to an irregularity or accounting issue
identified in a regular audit. AB 288 requires the board
to provide its response to each trustee's appointing
authority.
Before adopting or increasing a special benefit assessment,
AB 288 requires the board of trustees to mail the public
notice to each trustee's appointing authority. The
trustees and staff must make themselves available to the
appointing authorities to discuss the proposed special
benefit assessments.
Comments
1. Accountability and trust . The public's trust in
AB 288 -- 5/14/09 -- Page 2
government relies on transparency, accountability, and
responsiveness. When mistakes happen, constituents expect
their representatives to acknowledge what went wrong,
correct the problem, and avoid future errors. AB 288 helps
to build public trust in mosquito abatement districts by
requiring the districts' trustees to respond to problems
identified in their regular audits. By reporting back to
the city councils and county boards of supervisors that
appoint their trustees, the mosquito abatement districts
can demonstrate their accountability and responsiveness.
Similarly, by letting their appointing authorities know
about pending changes in special benefit assessments, the
districts can explain why they need more revenues to
protect the public health.
2. What the Governor said . AB 288 is nearly identical to
SB 1326 (Ducheny, 2008) which the Legislature passed with
no "no" votes. Nevertheless, Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger vetoed the Ducheny bill, saying that he
could only sign "bills that are the highest priority for
California."
Assembly Actions
Assembly Local Government Committee: 7-0
Assembly Appropriations Committee:16-0
Assembly Floor: 79-0
Support and Opposition (5/14)
Support : California School Employees Association, Howard
Jarvis Taxpayers Association.
Opposition : Unknown.